A sinkhole near Tokyo that swallowed a dump truck hole on Tuesday has now doubled in wide after combining with a second sinkhole as rescue workers continued their dig to reach the vehicle's driver.

Emergency workers have been hampered by unstable ground since Tuesday, when a truck and its driver were swallowed north of Tokyo.

A sinkhole at an intersection in Saitama Prefecture that swallowed a truck collapsed further Thursday and merged with a second opening that had formed nearby, as rescue efforts continued into a third day to save the driver.

Video taken from a Kyodo News helicopter on Jan. 29, 2025, shows sinkholes at an intersection in Yashio in Saitama Prefecture, near Tokyo. The one on the right appeared the previous day, swallowing a truck and a man believed to be its driver,

A massive sinkhole opened on a road in Japan's Saitama Prefecture. Rescue efforts are underway a truck that fell into the sinkhole.

Rescue workers in Japan are trying to pull out a truck driver from a sinkhole that appeared on Tuesday and has since widened. The sinkhole appeared in Yashio city in Saitama prefecture, near the capital Tokyo, swallowing a truck.

TOKYO, Jan 30 — Japanese authorities have asked 1.2 million people to cut back on showers and laundry to prevent leaking sewage aggravating an operation to rescue a truck driver in a sinkhole. The hole suddenly opened up in Yashio during the morning rush hour on Tuesday, swallowing the lorry.

Rescue efforts have been severely hampered by unstable ground around the hole and a second, larger hole appearing. Water has also been seeping in.

TOKYO -- An oval-shaped pit suddenly formed on a busy road in Yashio, Japan, on Tuesday, taking down a truck and trapping the driver inside. Emergency crews battled unstable ground and debris.

A rescue operation is still ongoing a day after a truck and its driver fell into a sinkhole on Tuesday (Jan 28).

The driver of the truck could communicate with rescue teams when his truck was first swallowed, but there are fears for his safety as sediment fills the hole.

The driver was able to talk with rescuers but they retreated after the area around the hole became unstable, a spokesperson said.